A Fresh Start

Well hello, and welcome to my NEW WEBSITE!!!

I know that it has been awhile. I have my reasons for neglecting the blog and I’ll explain a bit more as we move forward. For now, I just want to share my excitement with some of my favorite people: you, my readers!

There were many contributing factors that led me to give the blog a fresh start. For one thing, Wordpress was driving me CrAzY. I dreaded logging in and trying to compose a post or newsletter, so I just…didn’t. As a result, I decided to switch to Squarespace to host and design my website. It is SO MUCH better. I’m happy and I hope you are, too. Please let me know if you have any feedback and I will do what I can to improve the user experience!

Another reason for the switch was my desire to lock down on my exposure. Which is tricky. My goal is to reach as many people as possible. But in migrating my content, I came to some realizations. I started questioning myself. A lot. Was being so vulnerable on a public platform really so wise? Was it worth it?

At first the answer was no. No, I was not willing to make that sacrifice anymore. My solution was to withhold information about my new website from social media. I would make a Facebook/Instagram post encouraging folks to reach out to me personally for the URL to my new website and then subscribe to my newsletter. I would not share new posts to my social media profiles. People would have to subscribe to the newsletter to receive these updates.

That was my plan. I even shared this plan on my Instagram stories.

But now I’m not so sure.

I feel like doing this would really really narrow my audience. Which stands in opposition to what I’ve worked so hard to create over the past 10ish years. Not cool.

Am I really going to let a few experiences destroy my passion? Will I really let them win? Will I surrender my power to hose kinds of people? Will I really give up that easily?

I’ve always walked a fine line in publishing this blog on the world wide web. I strive for transparency, vulnerability, and honesty. Yet I fear what potential employers, romantic partners, or my own daughter might think of me should any of them stumble across my little portion of the internet.

I do not fear judgement. I fear the idea that other people may use my own words against me in some way in the near or distant future. What kind of repercussions will my words have?

So the question remains. Do I continue to expose myself to these potential consequences?

Hmmm.

Wow.

That’s a good one, Brittany.

I think the answer is yes. I mean…the damage has already been done, right? And my ultimate goal is to publish a book. Which would not be censored. Obviously. So…what’s the point in destroying the audience that I’ve generated through my efforts thus far?

So instead, I’ve locked down my social media accounts a bit. But to those of you who I already consider friends or acquaintances, I will still be sharing blog updates as they are published.

The only part of my original plan that will not be executed is a link on my old blog to my new blog. For reasons that do not need to be explained.

I’ve spent the last several weeks migrating every archived entry onto this website. The only things that will not be visible on this website are comments made on the old website. All other old content should be available here, at The OG Brittany B.

And yes, if you haven’t noticed yet, I have changed the name of my website. I wanted leave The Realistic Optimist Blog and its footprint behind. I wanted a fresh start. I wanted a new beginning.

To close, I’ll leave you with 2 requests:

  1. Please please SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter to stay up-to-date with new posts, photos, and other information you won’t want to miss!

  2. Please please SHARE my new website and posts as they are published. I want my vision to come alive. I want to give other people hope, but mostly I want people to know that they ARE NOT ALONE. In my experience, this has been the most powerful ripple that my stone has caused in the lake of life. People want to feel heard, understood, and supported. My story has proven to provide such things. I promise you. If you share this website with others, you become part of the ripple. You could even help save a life. I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s true. You never know.

Thanks for being loyal readers and stay awesome, folks.

Stay awesome.

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